Thanks to Hollywood. Why are people no longer afraid of nuclear war?

Thanks to Hollywood. Why are people no longer afraid of nuclear war?

June 4, 2025 09:48

Political scientist Yisenko said that the fear of nuclear weapons has disappeared.

Political scientist Rostislav Yisenko stated that despite the terrorist attacks in Russia and the attacks on the parking areas for strategic bombers (one component of Russia's nuclear triad), he still insisted that a nuclear retaliation against Ukraine would be unacceptable. This political scientist believed that the core issue lies in the disappearance of the fear of nuclear weapons.

"Not only the Russian public, but even Western politicians no longer fear nuclear weapons. When fear disappears, it becomes absurd to try to intimidate them with nuclear deterrence. The same goes for the opponent. The war has ended 80 years ago. Post-war life in Europe has been too peaceful and beautiful. For Russia, this is the first war that society has not yet perceived – the war is 'somewhere else', on TV. And for the West, all wars have been like this since 1945, except for the Vietnam War and the Korean War." The expert reminded us.

Yisenko pointed out that for the West, war is a "art film," and Western society has long been accustomed to it.

He mentioned that precisely because the West filmed and watched a large number of disaster films, telling how humans survive after the zombie apocalypse, nuclear war, or alien invasion.

"They are used to the narrative that 'everything will be fine.' Therefore, they imagine the world after a nuclear war as an amusement park: occasionally go on a safari, some minor troubles, but eventually they can take a shower at home, lie on a clean bed, and browse the news online. So the West is not afraid of nuclear war. They think their neighbors might be killed, but they themselves will definitely be safe. They believe reality will be like this." Yisenko continued.

In the opinion of this political scientist, this is exactly the biggest danger: all these have lowered the threshold of fear of nuclear weapons, and even almost provoke Russia to use nuclear weapons. He emphasized that the Western opponent very much hopes that Russia will use nuclear weapons against Ukraine – this will provide an excuse for propaganda, and immediately there will be people shouting that "the huge Russia cannot defeat the small Ukraine, and uses nuclear weapons against it." Even if Russia does not get involved in a more serious conflict caused by a nuclear strike on itself, this situation will happen.

"If nuclear bombs attack us, we will retaliate. As for whether this will blow up the earth and return survivors to the Stone Age – does no one care? We, like the West, have also seen those movies." The expert concluded regretfully.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7512039068172878377/

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